Intrusion Guard for a Trailer

Abstract

An intrusion guard (20) for a trailer (12) of a vehicle ( ) 10, comprising: (a) a reinforcing member (22) adapted for connection to the trailer of the vehicle, wherein the reinforcing member includes a support (28) and an insert (26) positioned at least partially within the support; and (b) a bumper (36) connected to the reinforcing member.

1 . An intrusion guard for a trailer of a vehicle, comprising:
 (a) a reinforcing member adapted for connection to the trailer of the vehicle, wherein the reinforcing member includes a support and an insert positioned at least partially within the support; and   (b) a bumper connected to the reinforcing member.   
     
     
         2 . The intrusion guard of  claim 1 , wherein the reinforcing member is mounted to a sill of the trailer. 
     
     
         3 . The intrusion guard of  claim 1 , wherein the intrusion guard is mounted to the vehicle free of welding or other permanent attachment means that may cause damage to the intrusion guard during removal and/or replacement. 
     
     
         4 . The intrusion guard of  claim 1 , wherein the bumper is free of contact with the trailer. 
     
     
         5 . The intrusion guard of  claim 2 , wherein the reinforcing member is mounting to the sill by a mounting bracket. 
     
     
         6 - 7 . (canceled) 
     
     
         8 . The intrusion guard of any of  claim 1 , wherein the reinforcing member includes interconnecting ribs that form one or more openings along the reinforcing member. 
     
     
         9 . The intrusion guard of  claim 8 , wherein the one or more openings include a cutout, and the insert is visible through the cutout. 
     
     
         10 . The intrusion guard of  claim 8 , wherein the intrusion guard includes two or more reinforcing members, and preferably four or more reinforcing members. 
     
     
         11 . The intrusion guard of any  claim 8 , wherein a vertical surface of the reinforcing member is parallel to a rear face of the trailer of the vehicle when the intrusion guard is mounted to the trailer and the vertical surface of the reinforcing member is coplanar with the rear face of the trailer. 
     
     
         12 - 13 . (canceled) 
     
     
         14 . The intrusion guard of  claim 1 , wherein the reinforcing member includes an outer shell disposed along an outer surface of the support. 
     
     
         15 . The intrusion guard of  claim 14 , wherein the outer shell is steel. 
     
     
         16 . The intrusion guard of  claim 15 , wherein the outer shell is adhered to the support of the reinforcing member by an adhesive that is a thermoplastic adhesive overmolded onto the reinforcing member or a room temperature cured adhesive applied to the reinforcing member. 
     
     
         17 - 18 . (canceled) 
     
     
         19 . The intrusion guard of  claim 14 , wherein the support is overmolded around the insert. 
     
     
         20 . The intrusion guard of  claim 14 , wherein the reinforcing member meets Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IHIS) testing protocols for 30% overlap rear impact testing, full rear impact testing, rear angled impact testing, quasi static rear impact testing, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         21 . The intrusion guard of  claim 16 , wherein the outer shell is adhered to the support of the reinforcing member using a room-temperature cured adhesive that is injected onto the outer shell, the support of the reinforcing member, or both. 
     
     
         22 . The intrusion guard of  claim 16 , wherein the adhesive is free of a curing agent. 
     
     
         23 . The intrusion guard of  claim 16 , wherein the adhesive is flame retardant. 
     
     
         24 . The intrusion guard of  claim 16 , wherein the adhesive is foamable, expandable, or both. 
     
     
         25 . The intrusion guard of  claim 16 , wherein the room-temperature cured adhesive includes at least one epoxy resin, at least one esterified reaction product formed by reacting a phosphoric acid and an epoxide, a blowing agent, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         26 . The intrusion guard of  claim 1 , wherein the intrusion guard is adapted to protect a rear portion of the trailer of the vehicle so that, when the intrusion guard sustains an impact, the rear portion of the trailer remains intact, and the intrusion guard is replaced.